The Reflex

Chapter Two

The man talking to me doesn't even introduce himself before he starts telling me about 'Reflexives'.

"We are a race of semi-humans with... talents. They range from the small, like Anastasia's telepathy, to the large. An example of the extreme end of Reflexive power would be what you did today. Most Reflexives wouldn't be able to blow up a car without training. Generally speaking, we have powers at about the level of Saoirse's. She can freeze time, but it takes a lot of energy and is very draining." he says.

"She did that earlier." I recall. The man raised his eyebrows.

"Really? She didn't seem as exhausted as she does normally. She's probably sleeping about now," he says, his eyebrows raised. "Though I would appreciate it if you didn't interrupt me again. As I was saying, Reflexive powers vary a lot. You may think that more power would be good, and that we should all try to increase our power. You would be wrong. There are a group of humans known as Hunters. They utelise the natural ability of all humans to sense Reflexive power. They believe that Reflexives are evil and wish to take over the world. For this reason, they seek to destroy every one of us. Here, at HQ, you will find mostly first and second generation Reflexives. Most Reflexives don't live long enough to reproduce, so we don't really have any old families. The most established line of Reflexives here would be Saoirse's. She's the only fourth generation I've known. She's well known here, not because of her heritage but because she's been here since she was four. It would probably be best not to talk about family too much around her." he says. "I should probably introduce myself. I am Alexander Greyson. I am the Reflexives' Leader, in a way. I make sure everyone has opportunities to fulfill their potential and keep everyone safe as well as I can."

"I'm Cordelia Carter." I tell him. "The only accomplishment I have is that I was the first girl at the skate park to master the 720 Gazelle Flip."

"That has absolutely nothing to do with this conversation." Alexander says, and I feel my cheeks colour.

"I tend to get distracted easily." I say quietly, and Alexander nods.

"That will most likely be your downfall. Many a talented Reflexive has died from distraction. Don't  let it happen to you." he gestures for me to leave, and I do so.

The moment I open the door, two heads snap towards me. Anna and Saoirse had been standing outside the room, probably waiting for me.

"Hey, Cordy! I hope Xand didn't bore you too much. He has a habit of droning on and on and on and-" Anna begins, and I know that she would probably continue for hours if Saoirse hadn't shoved her hand over the smaller girl's mouth.

"We'll show you around." Saoirse says. She removes her hand from Anna's mouth.

"Okay. Thanks." I say, because I can't think of anything else. The full extent of what happened earlier still hasn't hit me, but I'm beginning to get a feeling of guilt weighing down on me. The three of us begin to walk down the corridor, with Anna and Saoirse pointing to each door and telling me whose office is behind it and what each person does. Apparently, this corridor is home to the private workplaces of the 'Elders', the experienced Reflexives who are over 30 years old.

"To be an Elder, they have to have been a known Relfexive for at least twenty years," Anna explains. "Most Reflexives don't live past twenty-five, and most are discovered in their teens, so the Elders are the super-powerful ones who have major control over their abilities."

"Most of them are stuffy old cowards who hide behind the rest of us." Saoirse mutters, her arms folded.

"Saoirse's jealous of them because she still has to wait fourteen years before she's old enough to become one, even though she's stronger and more experienced than most of them." Anna explains, and Saoirse frowns at her.

"No, I'm not. I would never want to be one of them anyway." she says.

"Right..." I say, dragging out the 'i' for effect. We reach a staircase and walk down it.

We end up in the entrance room we were in earlier.

"Now we go up the other side!" Anna says, pulling me along towards the staircase opposite the one we just came down.

"What about the rest of the stuff on the ground floor?" I ask, and Anna shrugs.

"It doesn't really get used. I've never explored it, and I've been here for three years!" she says, which makes me wonder.

"Do you, like, live here?" I ask. Anna nods. "What about your families?" Saoirse visibly tenses, and I remember what Alexander told me earlier about not mentioning family around Saoirse. Stupid, stupid, stupid, Cordelia! I think. grimacing at my mistake.

"Well, my parents have had their memories altered so they think I'm still at boarding school. Everyone at the school I'm supposed to go to have memories of me there, too, even though I haven't even set foot on school grounds since I was fourteen." Anna tells me after slipping her hand into Saoirse's and squeezing it. I can see that Saoirse's upset, so I don't press for information about her family.

We continue up the stairs and along another corridor, where each room has a letter and number on the door.

"The first set of dorms. Generally for the more experienced, powerful Reflexives so they can easily get to the ground floor in case of an attack. This is the only dorm floor that doesn't have a direct lift to the basement," Anna says, and I nod. "Saoirse's room's on this floor, because she's crazy strong." Anna says, her brown eyes shining with admiration for her friend.

"I'm not 'crazy strong', Anna. I just know how to use my power effectively," Saoirse says with a smile- the first I've seen on her- and shakes her head slightly. It's clear that she's starting to relax again. She turns to me. "I don't think we really have to show you the rest, Cordelia, since it's just more dorms. We should probably head to the basement so that you can start training. If you don't learn to control you power, you'll get yourself killed."

I nod, glad that I've got someone level-headed like Saoirse to help me. "I'm ready to train," I say. "I want to have control, and I want to help sort out the mess I caused." Saoirse smiles and begins to lead me up a flight of stairs. Anna squeals excitedly.

"I can't wait to see what you can do, Cordy!"

A/N: Wow, it took a long time to update this! I still need people to submit Rexflexives and Hunters, because I will be having lots of walk-on characters who Cordelia meets maybe once or twice, so keep commenting your characters! I will hopefully post the next chapter soon, and I'll try not to make you wait five and a half months again...